Outokumpu announced the completion of the Bochum melt shop ramp-down in Germany. The last melt was marked with a ceremony honouring over 100 years of stainless steel operations in Bochum that have now ended.
“Today is naturally a sad occasion, marking the end of an era of stainless steel production in Bochum, but a necessary measure to balance our production capacity in Europe. I would like to express my gratitude to the entire Bochum staff for their work and commitment, especially over the last two years. For us it was extremely important to find good, alternative employment and solutions for all employees, so that no one had to be made redundant”, said Oliver Picht, Outokumpu Senior Vice President Coil EMEA – Business Line Nirosta.
Photo courtesy of Outokumpu
The ramp down of the Bochum melt shop and the closure of Krefeld melt shop in 2013 were both key elements in the significant industrial restructuring and achieving the synergies following the merger of Outokumpu and Inoxum. Furthermore, it is fundamental to the turnaround of Coil EMEA. The positive financial impact of Bochum melt shop ramp down are more than EUR 30M annually from 2016 onwards and around EUR 20M of savings visible already in the second half of 2015.The Bochum closure is part of the EMEA restructuring programme in Europe that targets EUR 100M savings by the end of 2017.
